


Teach Me Again

by just_a_little_bug



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Memory Loss, Mind Manipulation, Pining, Reunions, Slightly abusive Asra
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:53:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28749555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_a_little_bug/pseuds/just_a_little_bug
Summary: Asra and his newest apprentice, Hayden, had lived in a world of romantic bliss for nearly a year. It was impossible to remember a life before Asra, but Hayden didn't mind. They were in love now, and that was all that mattered. But when the Countess seeks her help to uncover the Count's murder, she realizes that everything Asra had told her was a lie.Now she needed to find out why.
Relationships: Apprentice/Asra (The Arcana), Apprentice/Julian Devorak
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	1. Infatuated

**Author's Note:**

> I changed the apprentice's name from Francis to Hayden, sorry to those who have read this chapter already!

This felt familiar. 

It _always_ felt familiar.

I guess I could blame it on the fact that this was an almost daily occurrence; sit at the desk, take some notes, learn something new. And yet this felt familiar in a way I couldn't exactly explain. Almost like déjà vu, but that couldn't be. I've only been with Asra for a little less than 3 years, before that...it's all blurry, but I knew I was on the streets for a long time. 

He saved me, clothed me, fed me, cared for me. I owned him everything, even if that meant he wanted me to sit at this desk and take notes. 

"Hayden," I looked up into his smiling violet eyes. He leaned forward, staring deep into my eyes, they started to glimmer a little, and I felt the smallest bit of his magic envelope me. It was warm, like a hug, like coming home to Asra after a long day of running around trying to find supplies. 

"You're bored." I rolled my eyes. 

"You didn't need magic to see that." His laugh filled the shop drawing me closer to him. Everything about him was so _inviting,_ his eyes, his beautiful white hair, and his plump, pink lips...

"I know. I just wanted to wake you up a bit." I tossed my pencil aside, and stood up to stretch my arms and legs. He watched my short exercise, clearly amused, then stood up with me as well. I usually moaned about my height hating how short I was compared to everyone else, but I couldn't find the words this time, not when I was at the perfect height to see right down into his low cut shirt. 

"How can I make it better, my dear?" He asked while placing his hands on my hips, and pulling me flush against his body. I fiddled with the open collar of his shirt. He really shouldn't wear one if it was going to be so revealing. 

"Maybe we can go to the market?" I lifted my eyes up to his flashing smile. "Get some pumpkin bread?" One of his hands slid up and down my back sending delicious tingles along my spine before he rested his hand on the nape of my neck. 

"Anything you want, my dear." Bubbling with excitement, I tried to move out of his arms, but his grip was firm, and I couldn't move. 

"Asra?" 

"Kiss me." Of course he'd want that, he has been quite touchy for some time now. I leaned forward, my lips barely touched his, but it was enough for him to loosen his hold on me, and I quickly twirled out of his reach. As much as _I_ wanted it I wouldn't give it to him so easily. I liked to see him overcome with desire for me, positively dripping with it, to the point where he could think of nothing else, but getting even the smallest touch from me. 

"Hayden..." He groaned, clumsily attempting to chase me around the shop. I scrambled behind the glass counter just barely avoiding his hand. "Come here." He playfully growled. He could easily catch me, either on his own or with magic, but we both enjoyed the chase. It got our blood pumping, a little foreplay before-

"Got you," His voice was low, rumbling deep against my back as he pushed me flat on the wall. I turned so that every part of us was touching, our legs, our hips perfectly grooved into each others, my breasts squished against his chest, our lips were the only thing kept apart. 

"And what shall you do now that you've caught me?" My fingers toyed with the stray pieces of hair at his nape. His eyes were dark, pooling with lust, and only the mildest bit of restraint. I loved to tease him, to push him the the very edge of his limits, and I knew every way to do it, 

"Do you want me, Asra?" I whispered, tugging him a fraction closer. His eyes were darting between my eyes and my mouth. His magic was seeping out of him, he was less in control of it when his emotions were so strong. The feeling of it, of his raw _need_ sent a heated throb between my legs. I wanted so badly to ravish him, but I would hold out, wait for him to break first. 

"Dearest?" He moaned at the back of his throat at the sound of his favorite nickname, and dropped his head onto my breasts barely held in by my corset. 

"You always know how to break me," I gasped as he started leaving sloppy, wet kisses along my chest, "Luckily, I know how to do just the same." His hands grabbed at my thighs until I jumped up to wrap them around his waist. A gush of arousal flowed through me, he could surely feel on his breeches, but he squeezed my flesh harder until I could only focus on him. 

"Kiss. Me." He ordered again, leaving absolutely no room for any other course of action. I placed a chaste kiss on his lips not entirely satisfying either of us. 

"Hayden." My heart froze in my chest. I knew that tone, it wasn't exactly unkind, but he certainly wasn't playing around anymore. I went too far, I only wanted to have a little fun, but it was no longer enjoyable for either of us. His eyes immediately softened, and he let me down. 

"Did I frighten you? I did not mean to." He was stepping away from me, I did not want him to go. I laid my hands on either side of his face. 

"You did not." I kissed him, properly this time, making sure his tongue could slide deep into my mouth. He moaned, but made no move to touch me further, it was disappointing, but he was upset. I parted our lips, relishing in the sound our mouths made, a soft, wet, but utterly perfect sound. "I merely realized how hungry I am." He laughed and patted my stomach. 

"Let's get you some bread." 

~~~

The moon was full and bright as it shined through the hole in our bedroom that Asra had spelled, so that the weather would not disturb out the perfect sunrises we usually awoke to see. My cheek rested on his bare chest, his arm wrapped tightly around my waist. 

"Hayden, I have to leave." I sat up in disbelief. He had only returned from his previous trip not even a whole week ago. I missed him terribly while he was away, I've told him that many times, but he never stayed, and he never let me go with him. 

"Can't you stay a little longer? I'm sure the journey would still be there in a week...or two...?" He signed, and pulled on my hips until I moved to straddle him. Any other night I would be buzzing with the need for him to run his hands all over me, but my heart was heavy, and my eyes were starting to burn. 

"You know the sooner I leave, the sooner I will return to you, my dear."

"Only for you to leave me quicker that you returned." His face fell, and I knew I had struck a particularly sensitive nerve. I didn't even know why he had to go on these secretive journeys, maybe if he told me what they were about I wouldn't be so worried, or sad when he said he had to go. He tells me all the time that they are of great importance, but he was always gone, didn't I hold some importance in his life too? Even if it's not at the same levels as his trips I must surely mean _something._

"Hayden, you know I hate to leave you," He sat up, leaving no space between our bodies, "but I swear to you these journeys are important, and I will return to you as quickly as I can." I sighed in defeat, there was no changing Asra's mind when there was an "important journey" involved. He tightened his arms around my body and fell back onto the bed. 

"I promise I won't be long. You'll wait for me, won't you?" His tone changed, something lighter with a lilt of teasing that was supposed to make me feel better, but ultimately had no effect. Of course I would wait for him, I would always wait for him. 

I just wish that I didn't have to. 


	2. History

The first day without Asra should be the hardest, but quite honestly it was almost like a breath of fresh air. I cared for him, with all my heart, but he was my mentor as well as my lover, so he could be unbearable at times.

He found me a little after my 19th birthday, I had been attempting to trade a salesman my one last precious trinket for some bread, but he was having none of it. I was ready to give up, slink away to a warm corner for the night, but Asra, my white-haired angel, came to my side, and told the vendor that I was his apprentice just learning my way around Vesuvia. The man immediately believed Asra, and gave me the bread _without_ any payment. I couldn't thank Asra enough, it had been so long since someone had been so kind to me. He, being ever so humble, said that it was no trouble at all when I tried to give him anything he wanted. 

"Please, I have to repay you somehow, sir." He burst into delightful giggles apparently at my use of the word 'sir.'

"I'm just Asra, and truly, you don't need to repay me." I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth thinking of anything I could give him, but I really had nothing. There was my trinket, but I had hoped to hold onto that just a little longer. I didn't remember where I got it, or if it was a gift from someone but I could _feel_ the importance of it as it sat safely hidden in my pocket. 

"Do you have a home?" He startled me out of my thoughts, and made my cheeks burn with an unseen blush. My lack of a response was enough for him to lay his arm around my shoulders in a comforting sort of way. 

"You can stay with me. Be my apprentice in reality." I wanted to be wary of him, strangers you know? And who just offers some dirty, homeless girl a home and a job out of the blue? But the bread in my hand felt weighted with his kindness, unrepaid kindness at that. 

"You won't...you won't have to pay me. I could clean your shop or whatever an apprentice does for free." He laughed again as if I were the most amusing thing in the world. His eyes were light purple, later I would know how every emotion changed the color; sometimes it would be noticeable change, other times you had to really know him to see a difference. 

"I think we'll manage just fine, my dear." 

I was in love with him from the very first moment. For the longest time it was hard to read Asra, he may express a wide array of emotions, but it took months for me to figure out how many of those emotions were genuine. It took me another few months to realize that he could and _did_ feel the same way I did, for as long as I did as well. 

Our first kiss was two years after he took me under his care. We both had terrible insomnia, and after spending the whole night teaching me about the Arcana, Asra decided that we should take a walk to the beach. The town was still asleep, teetering on the edge of waking to start the day, perfectly quiet as we strolled arm in arm through the alleyways. 

I was beyond nervous, shaking so badly that Asra had though I caught a chill in the middle of summer. The only reason I was so nervous was because, at this point, he had shown zero indication that he thought of me as anything more than his young apprentice. It was disheartening to say the least, but today I was going to make a move. If I didn't do it soon then I feared my magic would give me away, especially since it was so new, and I had little control over it. 

The air had become a little chilly, and the sand was damp as we sat side by side, shoulders touching. Any other day. the rhythmic crash of the waves would have calmed me enough to properly think about what I was going to do, but today that certainly wasn't working. I kept wringing my hands together, and my heart was pounding so hard in my chest Asra must surely hear it. 

"Are you alright?" I could feel the familiar tingle of his magic curling around my body, easing my anxiety a little. Asra's head was tilted, his eyes sparkling in the sunrise as he searched my own for an answer. Building what little courage I had, I reached over and took his hands in my own. 

"Asra, I...I have something to tell you, an-and it might, well it might-" I sighed causing a curl along my forehead to bounce in the air. I had a whole speech planned of course, but that _absurdly_ attractive smile on his face halted every thought in my head. "The thing is Asra, I...I care for you as in...as in more than friends if that was something you could possibly be...interested in?" I wasn't expecting an immediate response, but I couldn't read whatever emotion was on his face because I was still bubbling with nerves. 

"e...Hayden"

"I'm sorry, what?" Stupid, I should've been paying attention especially now, not on the blood rushing through my ears, or how perfectly kissable his lips were right now...

"Kiss me, Hayden." I heard him this time, I think I was just in shock. I had prepared for every situation: the one where he rejected me, the one where he could've gotten angry, even the one where he said he cared for me the same way, but not for the one where he wanted to jump straight into it. I did want him, to be with him, I just thought we would wait a little longer, but why did I feel that way? We had spent so much time together that I was sure I loved him, and yet something at the back of my mind made me hesitate. I couldn't explain what the feeling was or where it came from, but it made my head throb, as if I was trying to remember something, a reason why I shouldn't do this, but I was coming up completely blank. 

"Did you hear me?" His voice was laced with amusement and concern as he brought me back to the present. His magic was prodding at every inch of my body, making sure that I was still okay. I was, well, I was getting there by staring into his lilac eyes. That was a new color, I wonder what emotion it held. 

"I did..." He stared at me, patiently, obviously still waiting for a reaction or at least a response to his command. I guess it was now or never, it probably looks weird that I confessed my feelings of attraction toward him, and I wasn't making any physical moves. I leaned forward, slowly, watching as his eyes flickered between my eyes and my lips before giving up and staring entirely at my mouth. His breath hitched when my lips were only a whisper away, and that was all I needed; an indication that he truly wanted this. I pushed all the way forward and pressed my lips to his soft, perfect ones. 

Everything felt too good to be true. The way his lips were smiling against mine, the way he squeezed my waist in his hands, and the awfully sinful way his tongue slid along the edge of my closed mouth. My breath caught in my throat, and I pulled away. 

"Too much?" Asra teased, seemingly just as breathless as I was from our one precious kiss. I shook my head, my lips were still tingling. Tingling in a strange, but familiar away. 

"Did you use magic?" I touched my warm bottom lip, enhancing the sensation. 

"I thought it would make you feel more comfortable. Did you not-umph!" He fell back into the sand, surprised at my sudden attack on him. I was just too happy, relaxed even. I was expecting so many different outcomes, and here he was laughing as I pinned him to the ground and peppered his entire face with kisses, my heart never felt lighter, not even that hesitant feeling at the back of my mind could ruin it. 

"Wait, Hayden..." I quickly sat up, fearing I had done something wrong. 

"Sorry, I-" His eyes darkened to a deep amethyst as he grabbed at the nape of my neck, and flipped our positions. The wet sand seeped into my clothes, but it was the pure lust in his eyes that had me shivering, a throb echoed through my body, and settled at the area between my legs. Everything in me ached for him, I needed him to touch me, anywhere, _everywhere._

"Don't worry, my dear, I have you..." And he did. He lavished me with kisses, and frantic brushes of his hands all over my body making me absolutely crazy, and things certainly would have gone further, but the town was starting to wake, and people would be able to spot our little tumble in the sand.

After that day, Asra and I stayed pretty much the same, the only difference being that both of us took any opportunity we could to kiss each other, or teasingly rub up against the other. Everything was perfect for so long, and now I was lucky if I got to see him a few days out of the month. I sighed, maybe the first day really was the hardest without him. Three sharp knocks sounded at the shop's front door.

Frowning, I looked out the window. It was still dark out, and I was more than sure that I put the closed sign out, who could be out so late, and what did they want with a magician's shop? 

"We're closed!" I called out. Whatever they wanted, it couldn't be good. There was silence for a little, I thought they had left, but there were more knocks, louder and more insistent than before. I grabbed a small dagger from the shelf, and approached the door. Hiding the blade in my skirts, I unlocked the door, and pulled it open. A tall figure in silky purple and white robes shoved their way into the shop. 

"Hey! You can't just barge in here, we're _closed_." The figure quickly turned on their heel. I almost pulled the dagger out, but the figure pulled down their hood. I gasped. 

"Countess! I-I'm so sorry, I-" 

"Magician," Her voice was smooth and even, yet her eyes held nothing but pain and determination. 

"I need your help." 


End file.
